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24/05/2020

Jio-Facebook deal likely to boost adoption of crypto-blockchain in India

According to experts tracking this development, this may result in piloting a that can be unilaterally used for discounts or reward points within its telecom, entertainment and e-commerce businesses, once regulatory hurdles are cleared. The behemoth is also expected to look at using for easing supply chain constraints, they said.

"It certainly is a significant development considering that both the giants have a massive interest in blockchain and . It will only be a matter of time before we see the two forces join to bring in some blockchain or cryptocurrency-based payments into the already thriving digital payment space in India," said Ashish Singhal, co-founder and CEO of Cruxpay—a cryptocurrency exchange aggregator platform.

"When Facebook and Jio combine, it's an obvious next step for them to explore blockchain crypto-related initiatives in India. Both are highly innovative companies and I don’t think that they would sit on the sidelines while the world moves ahead in ," said Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by Binance. is the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volumes.

"WhatsApp trying to crack ‘payments’ market in India also brightens the chance for crypto initiatives emerging from this partnership," Shetty said, adding that a crypto loyalty token that can be used in Facebook and Jio properties would be a good first step to attract users for early adoption.

Singhal also said the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate may use Blockchain for tracking inventory of Kirana stores and thereby also use of a like , or other crypto assets for payments. This comes as has already started interacting with customers of Kirana stores on the use of WhatsApp for grocery orders in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan in Mumbai.

"Another possibility could be deploying a centralised closed-system, a unidirectional cryptocurrency that could be used only in the Reliance universe of Jio phone, Ajio e-commerce store or JioMart," said Ashim Sood, a Supreme Court lawyer, who appeared for the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which had obtained a favourable ruling last month in the case of the Reserve Bank of India's ban on cryptocurrency.

Last Month, Facebook announced it would invest Rs 43,547 crore ($5.7 billion) in RIL's wholly-owned subsidiary Jio Platforms to expand its presence in India for a 9.9 per cent stake in Jio. This transaction also marked the largest foreign direct investment for a minority investment in India.

In August 2019, Mukesh Ambani announced to build the world's largest blockchain networks in the world with tens of thousands of nodes, at the company's annual general meeting.

05/05/2020

to invest ₹ 43,574 crore in for a 9.99% stake (India)

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Reliance Industries Limited (“Reliance Industries”), Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio Platforms”) and Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) today announced the signing of binding agreements for an investment of ₹ 43,574 crore by Facebook into Jio Platforms.

This investment by Facebook values Jio Platforms at ₹ 4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value ($65.95 billion, assuming a conversion rate of ₹ 70 to a US Dollar). Facebook’s investment will translate into a 9.99% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis.

Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, is a next-generation technology company building a Digital Society for India by bringing together Jio’s leading digital apps, digital ecosystems and India’s #1 high speed connectivity platform under one umbrella.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, which provides connectivity platform to over 388 million subscribers, will continue to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms.

Jio’s vision is to enable a Digital India for 1.3 billion Indians and Indian businesses, especially small merchants, micro-businesses and farmers.

Jio has brought transformational changes in the Indian digital services space and propelled India on the path towards becoming a global technology leader and among the leading digital economies in the world.

The partnership between Facebook and Jio is unprecedented in many ways. This is the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company anywhere in the world and the largest FDI in the technology sector in India.

The investment values Jio Platforms amongst the top 5 listed companies in India by market capitalization, within just three and a half years of launch of commercial services, validating Reliance Industries’ capability in incubating and building disruptive next-generation businesses, while delivering market defining shareholder value.

Our goal with this investment is to enable new opportunities for businesses of all sizes, but especially for small businesses across India and create new and exciting digital ecosystems that will empower, enrich and uplift the lives of all 1.3 billion Indians. The partnership assumes special significance for India in the wake of the severe disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the Indian — and the global — economy.

In the postCOVID era, comprehensive digitalisation will be an absolute necessity for revitalisation of the Indian economy. It is our common belief and commitment that no Indian should be deprived of the tremendous new opportunities, including opportunities for new employment and new businesses, in the process of India’s 360-degree digital transformation.

Concurrent with the investment, Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail Limited (“Reliance Retail”) and WhatsApp have also entered into a commercial partnership agreement to further accelerate Reliance Retail’s New Commerce business on the JioMart platform using WhatsApp and to support small businesses on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp already plays an important role in helping people and businesses connect in India. Reliance Retail’s New Commerce platform, JioMart, is being built in partnership with millions of small merchants and kirana shops to empower them to better serve the needs of Indian consumers.

The companies will work closely to ensure that consumers are able to access the nearest kiranas who can provide products and services to their homes by transacting seamlessly with JioMart using WhatsApp. Commenting on the partnership with Facebook, Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, said,

“When Reliance launched Jio in 2016, we were driven by the dream of INDIA’S DIGITAL SARVODAYA – India’s Inclusive Digital Rise to improve the quality of life of every single Indian and to propel India as the world’s leading Digital Society. All of us at Reliance are therefore humbled by the opportunity to welcome Facebook as our long-term partner in continuing to grow and transform the digital ecosystem of India for the benefit of all Indians.

The synergy between Jio and Facebook will help realise Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ Mission with its two ambitious goals — ‘Ease of Living’ and ‘Ease of Doing Business’ – for every single category of Indian people without exception.

In the post-Corona era, I am confident of India’s economic recovery and resurgence in the shortest period of time. The partnership will surely make an important contribution to this transformation.” The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. Morgan Stanley as financial advisor and AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell as counsels advised on the transaction.

12/12/2019

A firm advised by Nobel laureate Myron Scholes just a rival to Facebook's

is a which pegs its value to the basket of currencies that form the IMF's special drawing rights.
The U.K.-based company's advisory board includes the likes of Nobel laureate Myron Scholes and J.P. Morgan's Jacob Frenkel.
But the firm doesn't plan to its in the U.S. yet, claiming it doesn’t currently have the regulatory clarity required to do so.

“The essence of Saga is a vision of a fairer world, of currency which empowers its holders with the power to govern monetary policy decisions. It transcends borders and blends a global, democratic approach with the transparency and assurance of action, that technology provides.

This vision is the thread which ties all the components of Saga together — from the governance framework to the monetary model and the which underpins the .”

“With Libra, anyone with a $40 smartphone and connectivity will have the ability to securely safeguard their assets, access the world , transact at a much lower cost, and over time access a whole range of financial services. We firmly believe that if Libra is successful, it can be a non-linear step change for billions of people who need it the most.”

06/11/2019

to press Facebook for details on

Australia's financial regulators may force Facebook to reveal details about its plans for a global cryptocurrency called Libra after the company failed to allay the watchdogs' concerns, The Australian newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper said eight Australian regulators had agreed to use their formal powers to press Facebook on its plans to launch the so-called “stablecoin” digital currency following an unsatisfactory meeting with the company in October.
A stablecoin is a digital currency tied to a “stable” asset or basket of assets that can range from real currencies to commodities. Libra would be pegged to bank deposits and government securities across several currencies such as the dollar and euro. Australian and international regulators have expressed concern the new currency could disrupt the financial system, harm users of Facebook apps and aid money laundering.
In an email to other regulators cited by the newspaper, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) deputy commissioner Elizabeth Hampton said: “If we don't get answers to these questions from the US-based team we will then need to consider whether formal powers are exercised where available.” The OAIC is the national regulator for privacy and freedom of information.
A specialist committee looking at emerging threats for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission warned commissioners in July that “all regulated entities” as well as consumers and investors could be affected if Libra could not be effectively supervised, the newspaper said.
“The proposed Libra ecosystem also poses many risks and threats, including the proliferation of scams based on Libra via mobile apps,” the ASIC committee said, according to heavily redacted documents obtained by the newspaper. “We also expect that we may identify more risks and threats once we have more information,” it said.
The newspaper said Facebook Australia declined to answer a list of detailed questions about its meetings with Australian regulators. “As a member of the Libra association, we will continue to be a part of dialogue to ensure that this global financial infrastructure is governed in a way that is reflective of the people it serves,” a Facebook spokesman told the newspaper.

Facebook Australia's spokeswoman was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Global securities watchdog IOSCO said on Monday existing securities rules on disclosures, registration and reporting could apply to “stablecoin” digital currency initiatives such as Libra to help realise its benefits.

24/10/2019

CEO 6 hour for

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Expected to happen on October 23rd at 10 a.m. ET- Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes the hot seat again, bracing for a Congressional grilling ov...

24/10/2019

Zuckerberg’s testimony left lawmakers just as concerned about as they were beforehand

Members of the House Financial Services Committee questioned CEO over six hours on Wednesday about the company’s cryptocurrency plans.
After the hearing, several members expressed dissatisfaction with Zuckerberg’s testimony.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that independent if Facebook has such control and it’s their platform,” said Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Tex.

Six hours after lawmakers began grilling Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on his cryptocurrency plans, House members from both sides of the aisle expressed dissatisfaction with the lengthy testimony.

Zuckerberg took questions from the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, three months after David Marcus, Facebook’s cryptocurrency chief, failed in his testimony to give politicians confidence that the company would wait for a regulatory structure before launching its libra project.

The top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee didn’t see much advanced by Zuckerberg.

“Frankly, I’m not sure that we’ve learned anything new here,” said ranking member Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., as the Facebook CEO wrapped up his testimony.

That view was shared by several members of the committee, who had called on Zuckerberg to testify about the company’s plans with libra. Last week, Facebook announced the 21 founding members of the crypto project as the group met in Switzerland to sign onto the Libra Association charter, which will govern the libra cryptocurrency. In June, Facebook announced plans for libra to transform the way money moves around the world and said it would be run by a nonprofit association supported by a range of companies and organizations.

But Zuckerberg struggled to satisfy House members, who are concerned about regulation and the governance structure surrounding libra.

“We need to get together and we need to basically review what happened here today and make some decisions about how we go forward with the strategy,” Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., told reporters after the hearing.

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Investors weren’t bothered, as Facebook shares climbed more than 2% through Zuckerberg’s testimony.

Prior to the hearing, there were indications that Zuckerberg would hold back from making firm commitments about the project. After the Libra Association’s unveiling last week, Marcus told reporters that Zuckerberg wouldn’t be able to speak for the association itself.

In his prepared testimony, Zuckerberg made commitments only for Facebook’s involvement in the Libra Association and said that if the group wanted to launch the currency without U.S. regulators’ approval, Facebook “would be forced to leave” it. Zuckerberg noted at least three separate times during the hearing that he could not speak for what he called the “independent” association, which includes Marcus as a board member.

“I’m not sure that we learned too much more new, except now that they’re calling the association an independent association,” said Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Tex., in an interview following the hearing.

Garcia had been one of the lawmakers calling for Zuckerberg’s testimony on libra. Although she was “disappointed” with his answers, Garcia said she still believes Zuckerberg was the right person to call in because “Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg and Mark Zuckerberg is Libra.”

Garcia said she’s skeptical of the idea that the entities are separate.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that independent if Facebook has such control and it’s their platform,” she said.

Throughout the hearing, committee members urged Facebook to pause its plans while lawmakers come up with new rules for regulators, or to simply move the Libra Association from Switzerland to the U.S.

Waters said she can’t support the plan at all.

“I asked for a moratorium on libra. And what he committed to is they will not launch it until there is a regulatory oversight agency that is responsible for it,” Waters said after the hearing, adding that she’s “not so sure” that’s the same thing.

She said she doesn’t understand what libra is trying to accomplish and that it hasn’t been “adequately explained.”

“To simply say that you’re organizing Libra because you’re concerned about the unbanked and it’s going to have payments systems does not answer the questions for me,” Waters said.

16/10/2019

LAUNCHES , DESPITE GETTING BACKLASH FROM US REGULATORS

The Libra Association, the that will govern the currency, officially signed on 21 charter members.

Most of the remaining members of the Libra Association consist of venture capital firms, who often have an eye on emerging technologies and align with Facebook's interests, as well as nonprofits. But some larger companies who are now members of the association include Uber, Lyft, Spotify and European telecommunications company Vodafone.

Facebook and the Libra Association have said they would not start trading or accepting deposits for Libra until they satisfy US regulators concerns.

The association said in a statement that an unnamed additional 180 entities have expressed interest and have met the initial requirements to join.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear in front of the House Financial Services Committee later this month to discuss Libra. That committee is chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who has been an ardent critic of Libra from its onset.

Facebook and the Libra Association have said they would not start trading or accepting deposits for Libra until they satisfy US regulators concerns. Dante Disparte, Libra's head of policy and communications, said that the association is now in active talks with regulators to get approval.

Facebook has also hired several Washington lobbyists to help alieve regulator and political concerns over Libra.

The other three directors elected to the association's board were Matthew Davie of Kiva Microfunds, Patrick Ellis with PayU and Wences Casares of Xapo Holdings Ltd.

10/10/2019

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to Testify Before Congress Over Crypto

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will defend the Libra cryptocurrency project before U.S. lawmakers later this month.

The House Financial Services Committee announced Wednesday that Zuckerberg will testify on Oct. 23 during a hearing titled “An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors.” Zuckerberg will be the only witness.

While details were sparse, Wednesday’s press release noted that Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has drafted the “Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act.” Previously, Waters had called for Facebook to halt development of Libra until lawmakers’ concerns were addressed.

“The draft legislation prohibits large platform utilities, like Facebook, from becoming chartered, licensed or registered as a U.S. financial institution,” Wednesday’s release said, adding:

“The bill also prohibits large platform utilities from establishing, maintaining, or operating a digital asset that is intended to be widely used as medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, or any other similar function as defined by the Federal Reserve.”

This month’s hearing will be the third held by Congress: the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee both discussed Libra in July 2019. Facebook blockchain lead David Marcus testified on the potential benefits of the project at the time.

During those hearings, lawmakers were openly skeptical about Facebook’s efforts, pointing to its past track record with data privacy and other issues as concerns.

The regulatory backlash around Libra has also concerned Facebook’s launch partners. PayPal, which Marcus previously led, pulled out of the 28-member governing association last week. Visa and Mastercard are also reportedly concerned about the possible impact of continuing with the project.

Senators Brian Schatz and Sherrod Brown, both members of the Banking Committee, went as far as to warn the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard and Stripe on Tuesday, writing that participating in Libra Association could open them up to further regulatory scrutiny.

CoinDesk has reached out to Facebook for comment and will update the piece if we hear back.

09/10/2019

Spooked by Libra, EU vows to regulate cryptocurrencies

The European Union’s Finance Commissioner pledged on Tuesday to propose new rules to regulate virtual currencies, in a reaction to Facebook’s plans to introduce Libra, which the EU considers a risk to financial stability.
France and Germany said that Libra, whose size would dwarf cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, could limit their monetary sovereignty.
“Europe needs a common approach on crypto-assets such as Libra,” Valdis Dombrovskis told EU lawmakers in a confirmation hearing. “I intend to propose new legislation on this.”

The EU has no specific regulations on cryptocurrencies, which, until Libra was announced in June, had been considered a marginal issue by most decision makers because only a fraction of bitcoins or other digital coins are converted into Euros.
Dombrovskis has resisted regulating digital currencies in the five years he has served so far. He made it clear his change of heart stemmed from Facebook’s plans for Libra, a digital currency that “could have systemic effects on financial stability,” he told lawmakers.
An EU Commission official said there was no timetable yet for proposing the new rules.
Dombrovskis said the crypto regulation should focus on defending financial stability, protecting consumers and tackling the risks of money-laundering using crypto-assets, which can easily cross borders.

07/10/2019

PayPal Drops Out Of Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency Amid Global Backlash

PayPal is the first company to drop out of Libra association
Libra now has 28 members, including Uber, Spotify among others
“We are better off knowing about this lack of commitment now, rather than later,” the association said in response

Apple CEO Tim Cook slammed it as a power grab, the Indian government refused to show interest and the European Commission is investigating its potential anti-competitive behaviour _ the ambitious Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency has garnered opposition from all quarters across the world. Latest to add a jolt to the infamous Libra is the U.S payments processor PayPal Holdings Inc.

PayPal has become the first company to drop out of Facebook’s Libra Association, a cryptocurrency and related association, formed earlier this year to build global digital currency Libra, along with a chain of nearly 29 members.

“We remain supportive of Libra’s aspirations and look forward to continued dialogue on ways to work together in the future,” PayPal said in a statement. It added that it would be focusing on its own core businesses and forego participation in the group. With the exit of PayPal, Libra Association now has 28 members, including Uber Technologies Inc, Lyft Inc and Spotify Technologies.

Responding to the exit, the non-profit Libra Association said in a statement, “The type of change that will reconfigure the financial system to be tilted towards people, not the institutions serving them, will be hard. Commitment to that mission is more important to us than anything else. We’re better off knowing about this lack of commitment now, rather than later.”

02/10/2019

Reliance Jio to build one of World’s Largest Blockchain Network in India!

Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani told shareholders that over the next year, Reliance Jio Infocomm will install one of the world’s largest blockchain networks across India with tens of thousands of nodes operational on day one.

“What if I told you this (CryptoBan) is just being done to scare away folks who are active in Indian Crypto Space to facilitate Jio’s entry?”, this is a text message I received from a source with connections inside NPCI, Reliance and the government in June 2019. Two more sources confirmed India. None, wanted us to share their names, fearing retaliation.

The chief of India’s biggest company, Mukesh Ambani is also an e-resident of Estonia, known for its digital initiatives and support for Crypto Projects. Jio launched Jio Estonia OU, back in November 2018. Taavi Kotka, the first Chief Information officer of Estonia, is now the CEO of Reliance’s Estonian subsidiary. When asked about his role with Ambani, he answered,

“Mr. Ambani has a very clear vision of a digital India. To support that, he wanted to create a research and knowledge centre in Estonia to help digital India become a reality.”

Taavi Kotka, CEO – Jio Estonia OU
In December, in a first for India, blockchain-enabled letter of credit had facilitated an export shipment between Reliance Industries (RIL) and one of its US-based clients.

Reliance Jio has been working/researching on Blockchain for quite sometime now, with almost no details made public. Until today.

Today, at the Reliance Annual General Meeting, Ambani announced Jio’s grand plans to create “one of World’s largest Blockchain Network in India”. Praising the distributed ledger technology, Ambani says it can bring “security, trust, automation and efficiency” which can help modernise industries like supply chain, agricultural produce and other forms.

Reliance Jio is banking on Data privacy using DLT to allow customer data to be “controlled by Indian people and not by corporates”.

“Data is wealth and Indian wealth must remain in India. Over the next 12 months, Jio will install across India, one of the largest blockchain networks in the world with tens of thousands of nodes operation on Day one.”

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman – Reliance Industries

Without ?

While the Indian and Blockchain is thrilled with the news of Reliance’s entry, there is no information on whether there will be a token/ on the supposed one of world’s largest blockchain network.

Jio’s blockchain, the report, seems to be steering towards leveraging Smart Contracts, to match customers and vendors, removing the middlemen and introduce real time settlements. Running a distributed network with 10000 nodes should have an incentive for those 10000 nodes to work honestly. That incentive in public blockchains come from the Token or coin like Bitcoin.

The twitter community is divided between whether Reliance’s announcement merit a Tokenised Blockchain or a Private Blockchain with a controlled settlement layer that either uses no currency or a national currency.

Post on www.facebook.com/JioEstoniaOU

Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd. (RIIHL), a wholly-owned unit of Reliance Industries, has set up a company in Estonia called Jio Estonia OÜ.

https://t.me/JioEstoniaOU